Missing in Action: Colorado Rockies left off the September roster | Rox Pile
Many fans of the Colorado Rockies were left scratching their heads over some of the omissions when September call-ups were announced. Rox Pile’s Colin Gaiser lists Jeff Hoffman, Peter Lambert, Josh Fuentes, Jordan Patterson and Mike Tauchman as the most notable players left off the expanded roster.
Lambert, who is just 21, is the most easily understood omission, as he scuffled a bit upon his promotion to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. Throwing the talented youngster into the flames of a pennant race understandably might not be the best thing for his development.
Fuentes slashed .327/.354/.517 en route to becoming the Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player. Still, he was never likely to be in the Rockies’ plans in 2018 and it would be questionable what contributions he could bring to the Major League club.
Tauchman made the team out of Spring Training before being sent down on April 22. Aside from a brief call-up for a week in June, Tauchman has spent the year in Triple-A. Playing for the Isotopes, Tauchman has absolutely raked. In the Majors, his small sample wRC+ has been negative-22 (that is, 122% worse than average). The Rockies did not entrust him with any sort of role in September- even as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement.
The biggest head scratchers, in my view, are Hoffman and Patterson. There’s not much more to say about Patterson that hasn’t already been said repeatedly since 2016. He has nothing left to prove in Triple-A (and his 2018 numbers were his best yet at the level), but the Rockies are not willing to give him at-bats in the Majors.
With Tyler Anderson having to skip his Monday start with shoulder soreness, Chad Bettis (on a pitch count maximum of 50) and the Rockies’ bullpen will be tasked with keeping the Philadelphia Phillies at bay on Tuesday evening. Were Hoffman called up and stretched out, he could easily fill a need for a fifth starter. While Hoffman struggled in limited MLB appearances in 2018, and left much to be desired in Triple-A, he clearly has more experience than most of the Rockies’ other internal options.
It’s Time We Applaud Rockies Starter Kyle Freeland Even if He Won’t Win the Cy Young | Sports Illustrated
With the impeccable seasons of Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola, it will be very difficult to envision Kyle Freeland winning the NL Cy Young Award. Even so, Jon Taylor of Sports Illustrated suggests that Freeland may be in the conversation for NL Most Valuable Player voting all the same. Given his contributions to his specific team and the degree of difficulty he faces pitching at Coors Field, Taylor believes there’s a case to be made.
The Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals and remaining schedules | Bleed Cubbie Blue
Purple Row’s Hendrik Kits van Heyningen gave us an excellent breakdown of every possible outcome for the Rockies in this final week of baseball. The Rockies will be heavily focused on the NL Central, and Bleed Cubbie Blue’s Al Yellon details the possibilities for the three teams in the hunt in their division.